


The one where the senate needs soldiers, and Yoda's sick of it

by Pepperonian



Series: Tales from the 473rd [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Clone Wars, Clones, Gen, Honestly I miss star wars at the moment, Jedi, Jedi Temple (Star Wars), Master & Padawan Relationship(s), My First AO3 Post, OC Star Wars Characters, Pre-Order 66, Self-Indulgent, Traditions, and the clones, slight AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:40:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24580954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pepperonian/pseuds/Pepperonian
Summary: As it was, he didn’t want a padawan, but the senate wanted more soldiers.Anakin Skywalker wasn't the only one to be assigned a Padawan in the Clone War.
Series: Tales from the 473rd [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1776703
Comments: 5
Kudos: 23





	The one where the senate needs soldiers, and Yoda's sick of it

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic here, and it's entirely self-indulgent. I should be studying, but I have no regrets at all. This is going to be a part of a long series of these short-ish fics about these characters, in a slightly AU world where Order-66 hasn't happened yet, but no one knows who Sideous is, and the Clone War drags on longer.

When Kayvin Avis had been a padawan, he’d been chosen by his master. It wasn’t just that his master had chosen him, but he had chosen to have a padawan at all. That had been the way of things. He wished, idly, as the troop-carrier rattled onto the landing pad, that war hadn’t taken that choice from him. As it was, he didn’t want a padawan, but the senate wanted more soldiers. 

Avis scoffed. ‘Want’ didn’t really come into it. Not for him. It wasn’t the Jedi way.

Then again, what it meant to be a Jedi had changed, even before Avis had been made a knight. He was proud, of course, but before the war it wouldn’t have happened. Before the war, he wouldn’t have had to worry that a padawan was being ‘assigned’ to him. He might still have been a padawan himself. 

That was less of a concern for some of the order, he knew. Skywalker had barely been out of his teens when they knighted him and thrown him a padawan in the middle of a battle. They all knew how well that had turned out, but at the time he hadn’t seemed overly worried. In a way, he wondered if he should be grateful. At least no one would be shooting at them when they met. At least he had some experience to pass on. 

“Coming into land now, sir,” Case said at his shoulder. Avis nodded his acknowledgement. Case, Commander Casey, was the only one of his troops with him, the rest were still in atmo on Integral. They all deserved shore leave, as far as Avis was concerned, but they knew as well as he did that as soon as the youngling was handed off to him, and they’d picked up a replacement platoon, they’d be deployed again. There was no sense in making planetfall for that short amount of time. Case was there for two reasons.

If Avis got any choice at all, he wanted to let Case watch. He trusted the Commander’s instincts. Besides, this new padawan would be his equal. Technically. Officially, he was there to retrieve what he called the ‘shinies.’ Avis technically didn’t have to have anything to do with that. Still, they were going to be his troops. Most Jedi that Avis knew drew the line at pretending the clones meant nothing to them. Masters Kenobi and Koon both made no secret of their attachments to their troops. Kenobi was almost as attached to his Commander as he was to Skywalker. 

When at last the troop carrier was still on the platform, Avis stepped off smoothly, letting its crew do their work. Case, he knew, was following him. He didn’t need the Force to know that much. He let his senses flood open with the familiar welcome of the Temple. 

There wasn’t much good about being back on Coruscant. But being home? Even briefly, it was a good feeling. 

Case, he felt, was a little more apprehensive. He was a hard man to unnerve, but something about the Temple had put him ill-at-ease. 

“Have you ever been to the temple, Case?” Avis asked, hoping the familiarity would put the clone more at ease. Underneath his helmet, he shook his head. 

“No, sir. Learnt about it though.”

The implication was clear. Few would ever walk through its doors. “At ease, Commander,” Avis said, hoping to reassure, “you’re among friends here.”

His Force signature didn’t change, but he appreciated it. 

“Come,” Avis said, “Master Yoda is waiting for us.”

***

Yoda was not the only one waiting for them. In the courtyard, pairs of younglings were sparring with staffs. 

“Are they blindfolded?” Case asked. Even the least skilled of the padawans was moving with speed and accuracy. If they were to be padawans, seeing with the Force was a basic skill.

Avis’ mouth twitched in amusement. It was always harder for the humans, the loss of sight. Avis was Kessurian. The montrals tended to help when sight was taken away. 

“It helps develop their use of the Force,” he explained.

Beneath his helmet, he knew Case would be grimacing. He didn’t understand, or particularly trust the Force. Avis didn’t hold it against him. He had been born with his faith. Case hadn’t even really been born. He’d been decanted, and made to grow up too fast, to serve an order of Force-Users in a fight that claimed more of his brothers, than it had claimed Avis’ brothers and sisters. 

“Knight Avis,” Yoda said as they drew closer, “arrived, you have.”

He bowed a little. “Greetings, Master.”

“Ready, you are?”

“I am,” Avis said, because he had to be. If Yoda sensed his misgivings, he didn’t let on. 

Yoda surveyed the younglings before them. They were a mixed bag of ages, species and genders. As usual, the majority were human. Most in these youngling clans appeared to be male. Yoda’s cane tapped the ground gently, and the fighting paused.

“Step forward, Briallen, Flynn,” Yoda said, “the rest, continue you will.”

Two of the slightly older looking younglings stepped away from their respective partners. Humans, both. A girl, with choppy brown hair, and a boy whose hair shone golden in the sun. Unlike many of the younglings, both had lightsabers at their hips. 

The oldest of these clans, then. Avis had to stop himself from frowning. They were still young. Younger than he would have liked. The senate must truly be desperate for soldiers. 

The younglings stopped before them. The girl was short and stocky, broad hips, shoulders and chest. There was a dark smudge on one cheek. Her nose was wet. She looked a little nervous, and the hem of her cloak looked muddy. Where she’d found mud to run through in the temple, or even on Coruscant, was beyond Avis.

The other more looked the part. He was tall, for his age, clean-cut and confident. “Masters,” he greeted, bowing deeply. 

His counterpart followed suit, just half a second too late. Her cheeks flushed a bit. 

“Knight Avis, this is,” Yoda said, “a padawan he will take on.” Yoda looked at him. If he wasn’t mistaken, he seemed a touch amused, “choose, he will.”

Ha! A choice in name only. The younglings didn’t look surprised. Two was small for a clan. Their peers must already have been chosen. Their masters given the same choice Avis was being given. Like picking loth-cats from a litter once they were old enough to be sold.

“Introductions, you should make, younglings,” Yoda prompted.”

“Flynn Rehtt, Master” the boy said immediately. Avis nodded his head at the boy.

“Briallen Tally,” the girl added, “at your service.” He inclined his head towards her in turn. She looked a little sad. Resigned, perhaps, like she knew the boy was the better choice. Like she knew his was already made, that it was the choice she likely would have made too.

“Do you want to test us, Master?” Flynn asked, sounding eager. “We can fight.”

To her credit, Briallen didn’t balk at the suggestion. Whatever she was, Avis doubted she was cowardly. 

“Up to you, it is,” Yoda informed him, “time, you have little of.” His expression was a little tighter, “strife, the outer rim is in. Needed, you and your new padawan will be.”  
Avis took this in his stride. It didn’t mean he liked it. The outer rim was savage, and not particularly where he wanted to start training either of them. Humans were more commonly strong with the force, but they were so breakable. Skywalker at least had gotten a Togruta, and a prodigious one at that. 

He nodded at the younglings. “You are dismissed. You will come to my quarters after you have eaten.”

Briallen and Flynn bowed, and moved away. At least they moved together. The element of competition could sometimes hurt a youngling clan. But these two seemed amiable enough. 

Yoda was looking at him again. “Accomplished swordsmen, both are,” he said. 

“Is Flynn better?” Avis asked, blunt. 

“Better,” Yoda mused, “perhaps stronger, more comfortable, but not better.”

***

Asking Case to his quarters would likely have caused more harm than good. He was a newer Commander, still more wary of him than Avis would have liked. It was easier on the battlefield for the Commander, Avis knew, for him to accept their equality. Here, at the Temple, Avis guessed was a little harder.

He did, however, insist that Case find the barracks and get rest, food, and maybe a shower. Avis didn’t think it would take long to decide. They would go to greet the new platoon this afternoon. 

With that, he retreated to his quarters. 

They were still, and simply furnished. His old padawan braid, which he had worn as a necklace, was his only possession, save his saber. His bed roll was the only other thing in the room. Weak Coruscanti sunlight filtered through the blinds, making the entirely still and silent room seem more still than ever.

Peace. He hadn’t felt that stillness in a long time. There was And even now it was interrupted with the turmoil of choice. 

He felt like his decision should have been straightforward. He was going into battle, and bringing one of the younglings with him. They would serve and lead his troops. Learn and fail and learn some more. 

Rehtt was the obvious choice. Collected, confident. He seemed ready.

Tally… He wasn’t sure what to think of her. She seemed less combat-ready, more childish than her counterpart.

It should have been an easy decision. Yet… 

Yoda had called the boy comfortable. Another word for confidence, perhaps, but Avis didn’t think that. Yoda generally said what he meant. That wasn’t the only thing nagging at the back of his mind. His own misgivings, observations. 

The senate would want a soldier. Flynn seemed ready, eager even, to be a soldier. But Avis liked, no, had to believe that whoever he chose would be his padawan first. Avis had been a Jedi Knight before he was made a Jedi General.

Unsurprisingly, Flynn came first. 

“Master,” he greeted when Avis called him in. His robes were typical, pale brown. He looked the part well. 

“Greetings, youngling,” Avis replied, “sit.”

The boy’s flash of annoyance was well masked. He sat peacefully; legs crossed.

He didn’t say anything further. He didn’t even look at the boy. He had been in a shallow meditative state when he had arrived, and he didn’t leave it now. He had a strong force signature, almost harshly bright. It was excitable. He wanted to ask questions. But he didn’t want to interrupt. He was fidgeting. Not physically, but the effect was the same. 

After a while, Avis opened his eyes to regard Flynn. 

“When were your clanmates chosen?”

Flynn’s eyes glinted. “Over the last cycle. Bloth was first. Sera was last. Now it’s just Briallen and I. Sera only just left. She and Master Hoshni have already been deployed.”

“If you are to be my padawan,” Avis remarked, “you too will get deployed.”

He nodded quickly. “I know, and soon. I know the Knights with Padawans never stick around for long anymore. I once saw General Skywalker arrive and turn around and head straight back out again.”

“You want to fight?”

His answer was quickly affirmative. Of course, it was. 

“Thank you, Flynn,” Avis said, the door sliding open. “You will no doubt be informed soon.”

Flynn bowed quickly and left, nodding to the small figure lingering outside his quarters. 

“Briallen,” Avis called, “you may enter.”

“Master,” she responded evenly, stepping into his quarters. Despite her general disarray, she moved with an assured, even grace. Even her manner of movement was less brash. “It is an honour,” she said, bowing, but not yet sitting. 

“Will we be meditating?” She asked, sounding almost excited. 

Avis felt amused. When he was a padawan, especially during the wars, sabers had held more fascination for him then meditation. 

Briallen had two on her belt, Avis noted, intrigued. It was rare for that to occur. Most who claimed second crystals did so in their apprenticeship, or during their knighthood. 

“No,” he said, at length. “Just talking.”

For all her enthusiasm for silent contemplation, she didn’t look disappointed. “You’ll ask me questions,” she said, and he nodded. “Will I get to ask questions too?”

“Yes,” Avis said. 

She seemed content for him to start. He asked her about her training so far, about her clanmates, as he had with Flynn. She said that she was glad to see them succeed. Mentioned how excited they had been to progress. She did not mention the war, or fighting. 

“What do you think of the Clone War?” He asked, suddenly. He had surprised himself. It was an unusual question. 

Briallen seemed unperturbed. “I do not like it,” she said, “how could I? But nothing is entirely bad. I am sure that without the Jedi involved, many more would have died.”  
“Civilians,” Avis agreed, “it is essential we keep the peace.”

“I meant the clones, too,” Briallen replied. “I was talking with Sergeant Far the other day. His batchmates serve with Master Koon. He saved their lives. I am sure they have saved his too.”

“You talk to the clones?” Avis asked, surprised. There were clone guards for the Temple, usually at street level, to prevent access by the public. But he'd never heard of the younglings talking to them.

“Everyone’s surprised at that,” Briallen commented, “I don’t know why.” She looked at him appraisingly. “You talk to your troops, don’t you?”

“Of course,” he said, neglecting to inform her that Case was probably the closest thing he had to a friend.

It seemed to be the natural end to the conversation. Briallen sensed it too. “Thank you for talking with me, Master Avis,” she said. “I enjoyed it. Tell Commander Casey I say hello.”  
And with that, she turned and left. 

Bouncy, Avis thought, surprised. How the girl walked: it was with a bounce in her step.

***

“What did you think?” He asks Case later, as they go on their way to inspect the new platoon down at the barracks. “Of the younglings?”

“Sir?” Case sounds uncertain. “I’m not sure its for me to say. Isn’t it a… Jedi thing?”

It is. Or rather, it was. Padawan bonds were carefully cultivated, though. A thing of legend among the clones, Avis knew, and even among the public. But this was different. He was choosing a new member of the 473rd. It was their legion. The Clone War had changed a lot about the Jedi Order. It certainly wasn’t outside the realm of possibility for it to change how he chose a padawan.

“The boy looked like a spitfire,” Case said, at last.

Avis nodded. “And Briallen?”

He couldn’t see Case’s face behind his helmet, but he sounded like he was smiling. “She looked like a Jedi,” he said.

***

Yoda found him that night. Avis wasn’t meditating, exactly, he was just sitting in his quarters. He was just trying to be. 

As usual, Yoda made no secret of his approach, his stick tapping gently on the floor. 

“Knight Avis,” he said in greeting, “a decision reached, you have.”

It wasn’t a question. He could imagine the certainty was clear in his Force signature. He was kneeling with his padawan braid in his hands. Examining it, and his feelings.  
“Yes, master.” 

“Good,” Yoda said. “Tell Flynn to pack for the front, I should?”

“The front?”

“Redeployed, you are,” Yoda said. “To the siege of Akiva.” 

“As you wish master, but I will tell my new padawan myself.”

Yoda seemed almost amused. “Accompany you to Flynn’s quarters, I shall.”

“If you wish, Master, but I am going to see Briallen.”

With care, his braid hovered gently above the ground, and the first of the beads detached. He let if fall gently into his palm. Yoda was looking at him with something that felt like satisfaction. 

“Ignored the obvious choice, you did.”

“I couldn’t see the boy as my apprentice. Briallen seemed more willing to learn.”

Yoda made a low noise of agreement. “Still more to the Jedi, there is, than this War. More circumspect, Briallen is. Better than confidence, it can be.”

Avis had to agree. For all that the War had changed who and what the Jedi were, he wasn’t going to train another soldier. He was going to train a Jedi Knight. That was what Briallen could be, with him. Flynn, he supposed, would make it too. A different master might be able to do that. But there would be an Order after the war. And they would need more than soldiers then.

***

Case and the new platoon met them at the landing platform. Briallen was calm in the Force. Curious, but not radiating energy. Her Force signature was not blinding, but the soft glow seemed to spread further. She was full of warmth and ingenuity and new life.

When Avis had appeared at her quarters, she’d looked surprised. And then, quietly delighted. The first bead of his braid was now the first of hers. It was almost inconspicuous in her mop of human fluff, but it was there. 

He didn’t have a proper Jedi Lineage. His own Master was long dead, and her master before that. 

“I do not have much to offer you, in that regard,” he had told her. It was her choice as much as it was his. 

She had just smiled. “I think Lineage as we know it might have changed, my Master,” before she’d dimpled at Case, standing at attention in the hallway, and clasped her hands together to bow. 

Struck slightly dumb, Avis had followed suit. It was done. 

Now, it was the morning. The sun was struggling to rise on a new day through the cloud of Coruscant smoke. Case and the platoon were waiting for them as he stepped lightly onto the transport, Briallen now at his heels.

The shinies, the clone slang rubbing off on him, snapped to attention.

“General Avis, sir,” the lieutenant said. The rest of the troops in the other troop carriers, all ready to go to war with him.

“At ease, Lieutenant,” Case told him, “you’ll need that hand to hold on. We wouldn’t want you falling out in atmo.”

Avis nodded at Case. He was a good commander. 

One of the braver clones jerked his unpainted head at Briallen, “who’s the youngling, sir?”

He was quickly elbowed into silence by his comrades, but Briallen seemed unperturbed, as usual. 

Casey filled in. “This is Jedi Commander Tally, trooper. Your commanding officer.”

“I’m new too,” Briallen added smiling at him. She must have noted their unpainted armour, lacking the dark green that adorned Casey’s own. That would be fixed, soon enough. Case and Avis always made sure they had barrels of the paint on board. And it was a long ride to Akiva. 

“I’m pleased to meet you.” Briallen added. 

The mouthy new trooper seemed a little stunned. “You too, sir.” He sounded uncertain. 

For the first time in what felt like a long time, Avis felt like he wanted to laugh. 

Maybe having a choice made for him wasn’t the worst thing that could have happened.


End file.
